The Next Great War
by Tyrsis
Summary: The Andalites and the humans are preparing to take the gloves off. Which race, if either, will be left standing? UPDATED! Please Read & Review
1. 0: Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs, and you won't see them in this story. I do probably own any characters you don't recognize, though.

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**A Brief History: Where Things Stand**

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            The Yeerk War was over. After the battle at Earth, the Yeerk Empire was gutted, and the Earth-Andalite Alliance emerged as the dominant force in the galaxy. Both worlds entered into new periods of prosperity, but massive changes rocked them as well.

            For the Andalites, the new alliance signaled a huge change in policy. For decades they had lived by the law of Seerow's Kindness, using it and the chaos that ensued as a lesson to never interfere with the affairs of other races. With the nature of the victory at Earth, though, the Andalites basically had no choice but to open up formal relations with the planet. And even though the change was a huge one, many Andalite civilians welcomed it, having great respect for the humans after news of their victory reached the homeworld.

            The changes on Earth were even more drastic, since they had opened up first ever relations with an advanced alien race (that wasn't trying to destroy them, at least). Z-Space and space travel marked the biggest breakthroughs with the technology transfer deals worked out between the humans and the Andalites, but other facets of life were altered, also. Automobiles, aircraft, phones, television, computers, PlayStations, and even toaster ovens all benefited from an infusion of Andalite technology. Politics were even affected, with some nations seeing the Andalites one-world federal government as the way to go. Borders changed and new world powers emerged as "Andalite democracy" became popular. Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Myanmar united into the Protectorate of Southeast Asia or the PSA and became the one of the dominant forces on the continent. The European Union went from a tight economic alliance to a nation united under one federal government. Persia was reborn when most of the Middle East united into one nation. All over the world, new unions were made. By 2050, only a half-century since the War's end, the number of nations in the world had been cut in half and the world scene was peacefully led by the United States, the PSA, China, and the European Union.

            But, as mentioned, the biggest changes were in space travel. In 2006, a mere four years after the Andalites started sharing their secret, the United States launched the _Jake Berenson_. By Andalite standards it was nothing much, but it was Earth's first Z-Space craft, and its voyage from Earth to the Andalite homeworld was met with much fanfare.

            From there the changes only sped up. In 2008, Earth's first private civilian spacecraft was launched by a firm in Japan. Two years later a Z-Space engine was added to it. By 2013 artificial gravity systems were perfected. In 2014 the USA landed on Mars, followed by the Europeans in 2015 and the Chinese in 2018. Starting in the early 2020s, settlements were established in orbit, on the moon, and on Mars. By 2030, terraforming of Mars began, followed by the colonization of several habitable, but uninhabited, worlds across the sector. By the 2060s all of Earth's space-faring nations had large fleets and armadas prowling the cosmos. By the end of the 21st Century the Andalites were starting to get a little worried; they had never expected a race could advance so quickly. Human civilization spanned across a half-dozen worlds and they all had powerful space forces. Andalite ambassadors to the United Nations, USA, PSA, China, and the EU voiced their people's disapproval to the human expansion, and tensions were raised. It was only a matter of time before things broke down altogether, and a massive human scientific breakthrough might prove to be the straw that breaks the camel's back…


	2. I: Breakthrough

**Lunar ****Joint****Research****Center****, Lunar Shipyards      May 2151**

            "Success!" Dr. William Oberman cried as the white glow filling the lab died down. On computer screens around the room, large energy spikes were gradually going down. "Gentlemen," Dr. Oberman said, turning to the people standing behind them, "it looks like those millions in research dollars have finally paid off."

            "So the reactor works?" asked Admiral George Doolittle, the commander of the U.S. Earth Sector Fleet. 

            "It most certainly does," Oberman replied, a large grin on his face. "We're finally able to tap into the enormous energy inherent in Zero-space. While it is true that Z-space is empty and totally devoid of matter, it is filled with energy. And now, with this reactor-" he motioned to the apparatus in the adjacent chamber "-we're finally able to harness that power, which, for all intents and purposes, is infinite." Oberman had to stop a minute to compose himself. "Just think, infinite power! It will not only revolutionize the fleets, but all of human civilization! Hell, Andalite civilization, too!"

            The five men who were witnesses to the reactor's success exchanged glances. They knew the Andalites, despite what the Z-space reactor might mean for civilization, would be less then ecstatic when they heard the news of it. For the last several years, the Andalites had been expressing concern at the pace of human expansion and innovation. Things were getting even tenser now, ever since the Martian terraforming had been completed in 2145. The Andalites had scoffed at the idea of such a radical transformation across an entire planet, and were wholeheartedly shocked when the humans managed it. Now, who knew how the Andalites would react when they heard that the humans had harnessed infinite energy.

            "Of course, you know Dr. Oberman," said Gunther von Dimmler, the U.N.s science chief, "nothing is to be done about this breakthrough until my peers and I talk to our superiors and the world leaders. As you might know, the situation with the Andalites is… delicate." He looked at his around at the others. They all nodded in affirmation.

            Von Dimmler's "peers" were representatives from around Earth. Doolittle was the American military representative to the project. A large man with a hulking frame, Doolittle was known throughout the Fleet as a no nonsense kind of guy. He was an "old school" military man who had little patience for political correctness. He was the kind to lead a charge rather than direct from a desk.

            Fleetleader Chiang Woo-hyun of the PSA Sol Fleet was the Protectorate's military liaison. He was the exact opposite of Doolittle. Slight, bookish, he was a strategist and a bureaucrat first, a soldier second.

            The European Union was represented by Vice-Admiral Diego Federico of the E.U. Space Command. Federico was enormous, easily tipping the scales at over 400 pounds. Despite this, Federico was well respected by everyone who knew him, garnering a solid reputation as a fair and involved officer as he rose through the ranks of the European Space Command.

            Completing the group was General Xiao Li, the head of the Chinese High Command. Despite, his short stature and slight frame, Li had developed a reputation of someone not to be crossed. He was normally quiet and reserved, but those who served under him long enough could tell fearsome stories of what he did when he was truly upset. 

            Von Dimmler was the only civilian in the group. Other civilians would be allowed in to see the results following the military tour.

            "I've heard about the tensions," Oberman said, his face suddenly grim, "what do you think the Andalites will do when they catch wind of this?"

            "We don't know." It was Federico. "That's why this has to go through the official government bureaucratic muck-a-muck before anything official can be done. The civs will tell you the same thing."

            "You can take your time," Oberman said, "before this can be installed in ships and power plants, some real work needs to be done, mainly the mining of Obtrisium."

            "Obtrisium?" said General Li.

            "A rare element, it's the only thing we know that can contain the energies of the Z-space reactor. As far as we know, it's only found on one planet. Fortunately, it's one of our planets. The only know deposit is in the High Reaches in the Protectorate's territory on Harvest. However, we have a second team working on synthesizing the metal."

            "The five nodded, and the four military officers made mental notes to send a note to their higher ups to boost defenses around Harvest.

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**Andalite Senate, Andalite Homeworld          October 2151**

            Outrageous! It was Senator-prince Rasgan-Durmadas-Curiva. They must be pulling your tail, Ambassador, there is no way human science could have made such a leap!

            Maybe there isn't, Senator, but I assure you that human science has indeed made the leap said the Andalite ambassador to the U.N., Seloran-Ashvin-Eskerra grimly. I saw the data with my own eyes. Already the United States has announced that its next starship class will be equipped with the Z-reactors.

            We can't allow the humans to pursue this technology said Rasgan. I've been warning everyone for years, the humans are turning into the next Yeerks!

            Indeed, senator? It was Senator Duria-Filorac-Vineel. I can find huge difference between the humans and the Yeerks. She began ticking off on her fingers. All of the human-controlled worlds were originally unsettled. All the human scientific achievements in the last 25 years have been made entirely on their own. And then there is the fact that we've been allies with them for almost 150 years!

            I've no need of your human sympathies, Senator said Rasgan. If humans ever get the idea that they are superior to us, who knows what they might try?

            Despite what you may want to believe, Senator, this energy technology is superior to our own. replied Duria. She was a pragmatist and nothing if not blunt.

            And that is exactly why they can't pursue it! Rasgan said I'm suggesting applying immediate diplomatic pressure to the human governments to scrap the Z-reactor program.

            And if they don't? asked another senator.

            Then we blockade the planet vital to the reactor construction, Harvest.

            Are you out of your mind?! yelled Duria. That's an act of war!

            I'm aware of that, Senator relied Rasgan.

            You are suggesting starting a war because, because… your pride's been hurt? That's ridiculous!

            It is not a matter of pride, Senator said Rasgan. It is a matter of security. The humans are doing too much, going too far, too fast. They are not ready for such leaps and could handle them… dangerously. I think my fellow Senators support me. There were murmurs of consent from the audience, but Duria noticed that some look troubled at Rasgan's suggestions as she withdrew into her place.


	3. II: Ultimatum

Author's Note: I just want to say thanks to the reviewers who have sent me encouragement and suggestions so far. It's all appreciated.

Korean Pearl- Thanks for the note, however I don't intend to have those five humans be major characters, so I'm skimping on them. It's also fair to warn you that this is only my second story, so I'm still working on my characterization skills.

Ta-dao- Hopefully this chapter will flesh out the two important Andalites a little more as well as introduce some new humans who I _do _intend to make major characters.

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**Chamber of Senator Duria-Filorac-Vineel, Andalite Homeworld               After Senate Session**

Fools! They are all fools! Senator Duria muttered venomously as she paced her office. And that Rasgan is the biggest fool of all!

            After she and Rasgan had had their argument, the Senate voted on the matter of applying pressure on Earth. To Duria's dismay, the Senate had passed the measure by an overwhelming majority. They were fools, she thought again, they honestly believed that diplomacy would solve the problem. They didn't know the humans as she did.

            Duria knew the humans and their culture intimately. She had been born on Earth, the daughter of the high-ranking Andalite ambassador to the E.U. Growing up, she had been well exposed to both human and Andalite customs. During her childhood, she had been taught by the best Andalite tutors. When it came time for university training, though, she went against her parents' wishes and attended Oxford. As a result of her dual education, Duria was as open minded an Andalite as you could ever find.

            When her father's stint as ambassador was through, Duria had returned to the homeworld and supplemented her education at the civilian academy. A few years later, she was elected to the Senate, where, after ten years, she remained a junior member, not taken quite seriously by several other senators, including Rasgan. Part of that was due to her being raised on Earth, but a lot of it was blatant sexism. The large and well built Rasgan never hesitated to question the smaller, slighter Duria's ability's to keep up with the rigors of politics.

            Duria knew from her own time growing up on Earth that humans could be as proud as any Andalite. She also knew them to be belligerent and extremely stubborn in submitting to pressure of any kind. The humans would not quit the Z-reactor program. Maybe if Rasgan and the Senate requested a technology exchange… But they hadn't, they intended to get rid of the Earth Z-reactor program, and then work on one for the Andalites, using information gleaned from the humans and without human competition.

            Duria chuckled without humor. Rasgan had been a thorn in her side ever since she was elected. The very opposite of Duria, Rasgan was very close minded; he was a proud, brash, often loud Andalite who was constantly advocating knocking human technology back several decades and pushing Andalite technology forward several centuries. He also had a tendency to underestimate humans. He expected the diplomatic step to work, for the humans to cave, but Duria knew better.

            And now Rasgan was all but pressing for war. Oh, that's what was going to happen, Duria knew, even if the bulk of the Senate didn't. The humans wouldn't give up their stance, and neither would her own people. She took solace in the fact that she still had time to do everything she could to stem the tide. Unlike diplomatic pressures, which only required the Senate to pass, a blockade needed to go to the High Command for approval. That step would take weeks, during which time she planned to appeal to the Electorate and the High Command itself. If war did break out between the humans and the Andalites, the results would be disastrous.

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**_P.S.S* Vishnu_, In Orbit Above Harvest      December 2151**

The door to Protectorate Fleetleader Chao Nguyen's quarters buzzed. "Enter," he said, looking up from the infinite paperwork that accompanied command. Any distraction he could use would be welcome.

            Upon seeing the face of his visitor, however he immediately changed his mind. The courier had an expression of deep worry as he entered the room. "Don't tell me," muttered Nguyen, "the Andalites…"

            "They've issued an ultimatum, sir." The courier said. "We are to cease the mining of Obtrisium and shut down our Z-reactor program within 72 hours. If we don't, 'extreme action' will be taken."

            "'Extreme action?'"

            "The Andalites' words, sir."

            "I see. And how is Bangkok responding to this threat of 'extreme action?'" asked Nguyen.

            "They've warned the Andalites that we will not abandon operations on Harvest and any encroachment on our space will be dealt with appropriately." The courier bowed as Nguyen dismissed him.

            Nguyen got out of his desk and went to his window, where he looked out at the green and blue planet slowing spinning before him, so very much like Earth.

            "So it's come to this, then, has it?" the fleetleader asked no one in particular. War was on the horizon. He knew his own government would not submit to the Andalites' demand, and he was fairly certain that the leaders in Washington, Beijing, and Brussels wouldn't either. It was also likely the Andalites wouldn't back down; they were too proud for that. When war came, his would be the first front. The Andalites wanted operations on Harvest shut down. In all likelihood they wanted the Obtrisium deposits to themselves so they would control the production of Z-reactors. Nguyen shook his head, such pride and selfishness. He himself had no use for pride and selfishness; Nguyen was a humble man, one of the reasons why he had advanced to be the commander of the Protectorate fleet in the Harvest sector. He had no qualms with spreading credit and would gladly give himself for a cause, which was more than he could say for some of the officers he had served under as well as many Andalites he knew. A small individual, Nguyen was a top notch strategist, but he had a certain sinewy strength about him and wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty if necessary. Looking toward the future, he knew he was going to indeed need to get his hands dirty.

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**_U.S.S.S.** _****_Ticonderoga_****, In Orbit Above Harvest   71 Hours Later**  

            Commander Jake B. Benden looked out across the planet Harvest from the bridge of the ship he commanded. Somewhere on that dirtball was a resource that was revolutionizing civilization, a resource worth fighting for.

            Two hours ago the nations of the world, refusing the Andalite ultimatum, had instituted the Joint Defense Initiative, pooling their resources to combat any threat that might come their way. The Initiative, even if not formalized, had been in effect for some time; the U.S., the PSA, the E.U., and China all had significant flotillas surrounding Harvest, ready to defend the planet and the mineral deposits on it. Now, they were all waiting for the "extreme action" the Andalites had promised.

            Benden sighed. He never expected the Andalites to do this, they had been protesting human advancement for over 50 years and it had all turned out be hot air. Now, now they were really going to the brink. Would the Andalites really want to cross the line? No, Benden doubted it, this was all a game of chicken; the Andalites were expecting the humans to back down and submit to their demands when things got hot. Well, they were going to be surprised. Benden intended to prove to them that you get the horn when you messed with the bull. He chuckled, that was a stance that had served him well over the years: prove to be stronger than the other guy thinks you are. He had gained accolades doing that when he and a small contingent under his command put down an insurrection on Indigo ten years ago. When the Andalites saw the humans were going to put up a good fight, they would halt their "extreme action," high-tail it back to the homeworld, and send their ambassadors to complain. That was the way they did things.

            Time passed as Benden lost himself thinking about Indigo and days gone by. He had a habit of doing that. He was jolted back to reality when klaxons sounded on the bridge. "What is it?" he demanded.

            "Sir, we're picking up ships exiting Z-space in the vicinity of Harvest." The tech officer consulted his display. "A lot of ships" he said grimly.

            "Put it on the screen," Benden commanded. The window he had been looking out shimmered as it was overtaken by the display.

            And there they were, Andalite ships appearing on the monitor. As Benden watched, a Dome ship popped into existence, followed by several light cruisers. The Dome ships, looking like giant metallic palm trees, were very different from the human capital ships. Though there were variations among the Earth nations, human ships for the most part resembled old aircraft carriers, albeit 10 times bigger than any aircraft carrier that ever sailed Earth's oceans. The_Ticonderoga_herselfwas over a mile-and-a-half from bow to stern, and she was a mid-sized ship. 

            As Benden continued to watch the screen, his dismay grew. He had been expecting the Andalites to try at the most a blockade, but more and more Andalite ships were appearing. By the time the last one popped into normal space, there was a fleet of over a dozen Dome ships, and too many light cruisers to count.

            A fleet much, much too large for a blockade.

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*: Protectorate Star Ship

**: United States Star Ship

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	4. III: The Shot Heard 'Round the Galaxy

**Andalite****Capitol****Plaza****, Andalite Homeworld           24 Hours Later**

            Senator-Prince Rasgan-Durmadas-Curiva gazed out his window at the protestors that had gathered on the carefully landscaped gardens around the capitol building. He gave a snort; this was more taint from the humans. A hundred and fifty years ago, few Andalites would go against the rulings of the Senate or High Command. Now, there was a crowd of several thousand that filled the Capitol compound.

            Some of the members of the throng had thought-speak amplifiers, leading groups in chants of _NO WAR! NO WAR!_ Most had signs, though. Rasgan looked at the multitude of signs. Some were generic: _No War with Earth!_ Some were suggestive: _Cooperation for Z-reactor_. And some were crazy: _Peace in the name of Cinnabon!_

            Rasgan chuckled. He enjoyed an occasional cinnamon roll himself, but they were hardly a reason to overlook a threat to Andalite security. He grew serious. Everyone out in the plaza was a fool; there would be no war. The humans were weak and would soon cave in the face of the blockade and submit to the Andalites' demands. 

            He grinned an Andalite eye-grin. The humans would probably submit even faster than he had originally hoped, too, thanks to Senator Duria. The paranoid little girl had made an appeal to the High Command to not blockade Harvest, citing human strength, will, and belligerence. The High Command had somewhat listened, too. Duria had persuaded them to take the humans' strength seriously, but instead of refusing the blockade, they had tripled the size of the fleet that would enforce it. This measure had come as a welcome surprise to Rasgan, not that he took the humans' military strength seriously…

            A thought-speak call interrupted Rasgan's thoughts. It was his aide. Pardon me, Senator, but there is a written message for you to see.

            Bring it in Rasgan said, still gazing at the protestors.

            The door to Rasgan's office opened and his aide, Filion, entered. Rasgan's was a large chamber, even by the standards of a claustrophobic race. It fitted someone with as high a rank as the senator's.

            Senator, this is a transcript of a call made to the High Command a few minutes ago Filion said, handing a sheet of paper to the senator as he turned away from the window.

            The large, muscular Andalite took the paper from Filion and started reading, all four eyes widening the more he read.

_            The people of the planet Earth and all her territories, invoking the Joint Defense Initiative and acting in the face of a threat to their security, hereby give the Andalite military twenty-four hours to remove its presence from the planet Harvest, upon threat of "extreme action." _

_            We feel compelled to further define our threat of "extreme action." If the Andalite presence is not removed from Harvest, the nations of Earth will have no other choice than to declare war on the Andalites. _

It was signed by almost every government foreign affairs official on Earth.

            Rasgan looked up from the transcript at Filion. It is a bluff the senator said gruffly. It has to be. The humans have neither the power nor the courage to start a war with us!

            I hope you're right, Senator said Filion quietly. I hope you're right.

**Dome ship _StellarBlade_, In Orbit Around Harvest 22 Hours Later**

We are approaching their deadline Captain Limidi-Finorass-Ideleem said on the bridge of his ship. Has there been any increased activity from the humans?

            No, sir replied tactical officer Prince Maryorn. The only action we have seen from the humans remains the frequent fly-bys by Chinese fighters.

            Any communication? From the capital ships or the fighters?

            No, sir.

            _They're cutting this close,_ Limidi thought to himself. He was beginning to doubt the Command's assurances that the blockade would not come to war. Even after the ultimatum was received, the official word remained "the humans will back down." Limidi had seen no indication of the humans backing down. For goodness sake, the Chinese were practically daring the Andalites to take the first shot!

            Limidi hoped with all of his hearts that there would be no war. It wasn't that he was afraid of the humans' strength; he was afraid of his own people's weakness. Peace for 150 years tended to make one soft. All Limidi himself had done as a captain was chase down some Skrit-Na raiders. He only hoped that the long peace had made the humans soft, also.

**_U.S.S.S. Ticonderoga, _In Orbit Above Harvest       Zero-Hour**

            Commander Benden couldn't believe it had come to this. A few minutes ago he, along with every other American commander on and around Harvest, had received an encrypted message from Washington. Now, he stood at the window to _Ticonderoga_'s immense fighter bay, watching pilots run to their craft and fighter after fighter take off. Through the transparent bubble of gravitational and magnetic energy that kept air in the bay but allowed craft to pass through, Benden watched as the _Ticonderoga_'s squadrons joined those of other U.S. ships.

            The speaker in the wall whistled. "Commander Benden to the bridge, please."

            With a sigh, Benden turned from the window and started toward the monorail that would take him to the bridge.

            "At ease," Benden said to the personnel who stood at attention as he walked into the _Ticonderoga_'s bridge. "Are we ready?" he asked his second in command, Lt. Commander Katelyn Harris.

            "Yes, sir, the fighters have been scrambled, the weapon batteries are manned, and our prism cannon is charged. We're just waiting for the word from command."

            No sooner had she finished speaking then the image of Admiral Bud Garfield, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Harvest Sector Fleet, appeared on the bridge's main screen. Garfield's face wore a grim expression. "The Andalites have refused to leave Harvest space, which, as you realize, leaves us only one option."

            The admiral took a deep breath. "All installations, ships, and craft," he said slowly, "fire at will."


	5. IV: The Battle Begins

Korean Pearl- I guess my vision of the Andalite government is sort of a cross between a democracy and an oligarchy. They have a small Senate, elected by the people, and the Senate holds virtually all power, except over military matters. They have no president, no prime minister, no House, and the courts are overseen by the Senate. Of course, this is just my theory.

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**Dome ship _StellarBlade, In Orbit Above Harvest, _Zero-Hour**

Captain! It was Prince Maryorn. We're receiving word from _StarStrike _and the _Reyomee. _The Americans and the Europeans have opened fire!

There was a collective gasp around the _StellarBlade_'s battle bridge, but Captain Limidi quickly stifled it.

We weren't hoping for this moment, Limidi said slowly. But we are ready for it, _correct?_ There were murmurs of affirmation from the officers and crew.

Limidi continued. We are staring down the throat of the Chinese, and they will most likely begin to attack any minute now. He turned to his weapons officer. The shredder is charged?

Yes, sir.

Limidi then turned to Prince Bredun, commander of the _StellarBlade's _fighter squadrons. Are the fighters ready to deploy? He asked.

They'll be in space three seconds after you give the order, Bredun replied smugly.

Good, now- Limidi was interrupted by a crewman monitoring the space around them.

Captain! I'm picking up a large energy signature building up! He paused, consulting he readings. It's emanating from Harvest's moon!

What?! But that would- It took Limidi a few seconds to process that. They have a prism cannon emplacement on the moon! They're preparing to fire! Evasive action, NOW!

The _StellarBlade_ made a hard turn to the right just as a huge blue beam of light blazed by it, narrowly missing the ship. Before Limidi could get another order out, the nearest Chinese ship, the _Formosa__, _started unloading on them. A shudder went through the bridge as a prism fire struck their shields.

Limidi stood frozen to the spot. He had never been in a real battle before, and he was frightened. He never thought he would be; he had assumed he would be as brave as ever in the face of battle. Apparently, he was mistaken. _No!_ He shook his head to clear his wits. _Get it together, Limidi_, he thought, _you've trained for this._

Bredun, the captain said, masking the fear in his voice. Scramble the fighters.

Yes, sir. Bredun spoke into a console then dashed off toward the fighter bay.

Now Limidi could see to his ship. Are our shields holding? he asked Maryorn.

So far, but the humans are giving us all they got. There was another shudder as an attack glanced off the shields.

Well, then, we should return the gift, Limidi said, trying to fall into his new role as battlefield commandant. Open fire.

Limidi watched as the shredder beam arced toward the _Formosa_. The Chinese ship barely dodged the blast.

Suddenly, the entire Dome ship buckled. Limidi barely braced himself. What was that?! Are we hit?

But his attention had already been drawn to the viewport, where, not fifteen miles away, the _StellarBlade_'s sister ship, the _GalaxyThunder, _was going up in a fantastic explosion after being struck by the massive moon-based prism cannon. It was the shockwave from the explosion that had struck the _StellarBlade_.

Limidi stared in horror at the explosion. He had several good friends aboard that ship, and now… We have to take out that prism cannon on the moon, he said to his T.O. grimly. Have Bredun's fighters engaged the humans?

Not yet, but they have rendezvoused with the squadrons from the, um, Maryorn paused, uncomfortable, from the _GalaxyThunder_. Limidi flinched, but Maryorn continued. ETA to the _Formosa_ is 2 minutes.

Limidi gave his order. Have our fighters break off from the Chinese. They are now ordered to destroy that cannon on the moon; it's already destroyed one ship, let us see if we can prevent it from destroying any more.

**_P.S.S. Vishnu, _In Orbit Around Harvest **

Fleetleader Chao Nguyen was fully aware of what was happening on the battlefield. The constant updates from his officers on the _Vishnu_'s bridge, along with what he could see for himself from the cruiser's viewports, kept him up-to-the-second on the battle

Currently, the _Vishnu_'s fighter squadrons, along with those of several other Protectorate ships, were engaging two Andalite Dome ships and their fighters. After destroying one Protectorate ship and badly damaging another, along with a European ship, the Dome ships had begun firing on the planet itself.

So far, if Nguyen's knowledge of Harvest's geography was right, the Dome ships had done no great damage. They were firing on the Northern Reaches, a great uninhabited mountain range near the planet's north pole. There was nothing there except a few mining establishments.

But the Dome ships had to be taken out. If they moved their fire to another area of the planet, or if they fully charged their shredders, they would kill billions of civilians. So far, the Andalite ships hadn't been firing at maximum power, which explained why the planet was still in one piece; fully charged shredders could destroy a moon and blow a significant chunk off a planet like Harvest.

The Protectorate fighter squadrons were essentially a diversion, keeping the Dome ships' defenses and fighters busy while the _Vishnu _and two other Protectorate ships maneuvered into place to destroy them.

The Protectorate cruisers reached their position just as the Andalites wised up to their plan. One Dome ship began turning to face the humans, but it was two slow; a blue beam lanced out from the _Vishnu_'s prism cannon, neatly cutting the Andalite ship in half.

Suddenly, four other Dome ships appeared out of Z-space, flanking the Protectorate forces. Three fired and the ship next to the _Vishnu_ exploded in a terrific flash.

"Shit! They were expecting something like this!" Nguyen exclaimed. He turned to his communications officer. "Order the _Bangkok_ to fall back."

"Yes, sir," the young man said. Then he hesitated. "What are we going to do?"

Nguyen ignored him. He instead turned to the weapons officer. "Charge the main prism cannon to overmax and set on wide dispersal. We're going to do as much damage to these things as we can."

Human prism cannons were a unique innovation. Ever since the early days of the alliance, the Andalites had refused to share weapons technology with Earth. They seemed to have forgotten, however, that hundreds of thousands of former Controllers had retained their Dracon weapons. Humanity took the Dracon weapons, reverse engineered them, and added some human innovations. The result was the prism weapon. Prism weapons were similar to shredders and Dracon beams in that they had an internal power source fueling a powerful beam weapon, but they had one big feature to differentiate them from the Andalite and Yeerk weapons. A prism weapon could draw upon any outside ambient energy, light or electricity or heat or even sound, to increase the force of its blast. One of the main benefits of this feature was that a wide-dispersed prism shot could be just as potent as a focused shot. The Andalites had never expressed concern over the prism beams because they had never been on the receiving end of one.

"We just need the fighters to keep the ships busy a little longer," Nguyen said. "How are we on the prism cannon?"

"Ninety-six percent, sir, less than two minutes more."

"I don't know if we have two minutes," Nguyen muttered.

No sooner had he said that then an explosion rocked the ship, sending most of the people on the bridge to the floor. "Damage report!" Nguyen yelled as soon as he got his bearings.

An officer scrambled to his station "Sir! Shields are down. We've lost engine two as well as engineering sector eight."

"Where are we at, Le?" Nguyen demanded of his weapons officer.

"The cannon's at 123%, just a little bit more."

Another shredder struck the ship. "We've lost engines one and three!" someone cried. "Sectors 7, 9, and 13 are depressurized."

"Seal them," grunted Nguyen. "And begin ordering our fighters to break off from the Dome ships." He turned to Lieutenant Le. "Le, come on," he pleaded.

Lieutenant Le hesitated before answering, gazing intently at his display. "Done!" he finally said triumphantly. "Cannon is at 150%, we're at overmax charge!"

"Good! Now fire at the Andalites!" exclaimed Nguyen.

The dispersed prism beam engulfed all five Dome ships. The one closest to the _Vishnu _exploded almost immediately, while smaller explosions began rocking the other four as their shields were drained. Another Dome ship exploded before the remaining ones escaped into Z-space.

Cheers erupted on the _Vishnu_'s bridge, but Nguyen quickly silenced them. They had won this skirmish, but the battle for Harvest was still being fought, and the war had only begun.


	6. V: Andalite Tactics

Originally, this chapter and the next one were going to be one chapter, but since I'm sure some of you are starved for an update, I decided that it was good enough to stand on it own.

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**Andalite High Command, Andalite Homeworld January 2152**

Senator Duria-Filorac-Vineel did her best not to say "I told you so" to the gathered senators and commanders. Her best, however, wasn't good enough.

I tried to warn you of the danger of engaging the humans, she addressed the Command. Now you realize they are far from backward and play to win. She aimed that last remark at Senator Rasgan, who was standing next to her.

Rasgan sneered at her. So far he had escaped official condemnation for the disastrous foot the war had started on, even though he had essentially started it, but there was noticeably more animosity directed toward him than there had been.

So far the war had not been going in the Andalites' favor. Even though the Andalites had made the first move, the humans seemed far better prepared. Duria knew why: the humans had millennia of practice with war. The last actual war among human nations was the Pacific War in 2024 between China and the USA. It had started when China invaded Taiwan. It had been in all honesty an insignificant little conflict; both sides decided the little island of Formosa wasn't worth the struggle and pulled out after four months. Even if that was the last conflict to wear the moniker of "war," though, there was always an armed conflict or insurrection going on somewhere on Earth or her territories. Colonies periodically went up in arms, and several Earth nations faced perennial attacks from within their borders. Duria's people, on the other hand, had only fought amongst themselves in the far distant past, and fought the Yeerks, with some skirmishes with races like the Skrit-Na in between.

The Battle of Harvest had been a disastrous blow. Five Dome ships destroyed, six others heavily damaged. The humans had suffered slightly greater losses, but they had more resources to draw upon. The Andalites' greatest victory in that battle had been the damaging of the prism cannon guarding Harvest from its moon. Even that, though, wasn't enough. Almost an entire fighter squadron had been destroyed doing that, and the damage could be repaired in a few months.

In the weeks after managing to hold Harvest, the humans had seized or destroyed several Andalite installations and outposts. Slowly they were making there way to the Home System.

As much as some of my colleagues may hate to admit it, we find that we have to agree with you, Senator, said War-prince Shareen-Domdor-Calora, a member of the High Command. Several of his peers shot him murderous looks; Andalites didn't like to admit weakness. Duria nodded. Shareen had been the only member of the High Command to share her fear of the humans and the only one to vote against the blockade. And even though he was an advocate of peace, Shareen himself was strong individual. Larger than the average Andalite, he had a commanding presence. He also had intimate knowledge of the humans, not as much as Duria, but enough. He had been a commandant with Andalite military intelligence on the human world of Aurora. Before that he had been a tactical officer on a Dome ship and had seen his share of scrapes and skirmishes. Now that Shareen and the senator had been proven correct, maybe Shareen's colleagues would listen to them. Now the question is what to do now that we are engaged, Shareen said.

Simple, we wipe Earth and all her territories out of the galaxy! exclaimed one war-prince.

We do not resort to genocide. Shareen shot back. Beside Duria, Rasgan snickered privately. She thought she knew why. Genocide would have been a solution he would resort to. Besides, her own people had come within a few hours of blasting both Yeerks and humans to extinction in the Yeerk War and _had _almost wiped out the Hork-Bajir in the battle on their homeworld. How times and politics changed.

Shareen went on. Besides, Earth is too well defended. The humans must never have completely trusted us because their world is perhaps the most fortified planet in the galaxy. Some of the assembled snorted, Rasgan among them. Shareen ignored them. In addition to the standard defensive fleets, they have orbiting prism cannon emplacements and missile batteries, weapons on the moon, weapons on the ground, Z-space rift inducers, and those are just the defenses that we know about. Shareen sighed. For the time being at least, we cannot take Earth. More snorts.

But we also cannot win a prolonged war of attrition with them, Duria said. Everyone flinched at the words_ we can't win_. With six worlds under their belt, she said, using a metaphor she picked up on Earth, the human nations have more resources at their disposal than we do.

Surely a strong enough strike on Earth can cripple the defenses and let us take the planet? questioned one overeager junior senator.

Perhaps, said Shareen. But at what cost? A battle at Earth would surely incur greater losses than the battle at Harvest. And from what I've read of human history, the humans are not ones to just quit. He looked at Duria, who took her cue.

He's right. If they feel they are fighting for a just cause, the humans will not give up. There are many instances in human history of people fighting to the point of destroying themselves and their territories rather than give in to their enemy.

Rasgan had been glaring at Duria as she was talking, and now was struck with an idea. Not only could he redeem himself and his standing, but he could also get rid of that annoying little girl.

If I may offer a suggestion to the High Command? he said. The princes grudgingly nodded, a human gesture the Andalite people had acquired over the 150 years of the two races' contact.

Why not send a team to infiltrate the Earth military infrastructure? Rasgan said, his voice silky smooth. Send a team that could ultimately sabotage the defenses and supply us with vital intelligence at the same time.

An interesting suggestion, Senator, said Prince Glomdeel, one of the more war-hawkish members of the High Command. Who would you suggest lead such a team? he asked, his voice getting a sinister edge.

Someone with intimate knowledge of humans and their customs. Someone with knowledge of Earth's political climate, the senator said icily. Someone like Senator Duria.

What?! the female senator burst out. That's outrageous. I'm a senator, Rasgan, not a spy.

But you know the humans and their world, Senator, Rasgan said, his voice dripping with malicious sweetness. You grew up with them, were educated by them, you have an understanding of humans deeper than that of most other Andalites.

Perhaps, said Duria, brushing off Rasgan's flattery, but I was raised in the European Union, one nation among many. There are vast cultural differences between the human nations. The Europeans and-

Even so, Glomdeel cut in. Your knowledge is unparalleled and your experience is invaluable. I, for one, support the organization of such an infiltration team. This brought mutterings of assent from several other members of the High Command.

But this is not a decision to be made lightly, Shareen broke in. While we have crews on the human colony worlds, intelligence operations on Earth have always been spotty, even with the morphing technology. The humans are adept at the art of espionage and how to defend against it. We must discuss the provisions of the organization of such an infiltration team, and if it is formed, who it will consist of.

Eventually the senators were dismissed. Outside of the hall of the High Command, none noticed as a junior aide to one of the senators slipped away from the group and toward a grove of trees on the far side of the hall. And none noticed as a _kafit_ bird flew out of the grove.


	7. VI: Human Tactics

**Joint Defense Headquarters, ****Cheyenne Mountain****, ****Colorado****, ****USA**** January 2152**

Admiral George Doolittle grunted in bittersweet satisfaction as he viewed the enormous display showing a map of human and Andalite space, human territory in green and Andalite in red. His own people had made impressive gains during the first month of the war, evidenced by the green shading over several formerly red areas. _Luck_, he thought, _the 'lites weren't expecting us to hit so hard. They'll regain their balance soon._ A few small smatterings of red were scattered around the fringes of human territory, but after Harvest the Andalites hadn't attacked a major human world. If anything, the Andalites seemed to be on the defensive, focusing on holding back Earth forces. _A strike will come soon, _Doolittle thought, _not at Earth, but…somewhere._

Doolittle sighed as he turned from the display back to the conference table at which sat military leaders from all over the world. After the Joint Defense Initiative had been instituted and the war had started, Doolittle was promoted from commander-in-chief of the U.S. Earth Sector Fleet to Supreme Commander of JDI Forces. He liked the little bonus and parking spot the title gave him, but could have done without the circumstances under which he got it.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the admiral said, "as you can see, we're doing quite good for ourselves." He waved at the map. "But sooner or later the Andalites are going to get off their blue butts and launch a counter-offensive. We have two options on how to deal with that: end this war now before the offensive comes, or else figure out where they'll hit first, next, and after that and prepare accordingly. Personally, I opt for option one, but that's likely wishful thinking. I'm open to suggestions."

"I don't think we need to worry about Earth," said E.U. Admiral Pierre Dietrich, voicing Doolittle's earlier thoughts. "At least, not initially. We can open a Z-space rift at a moment's notice so it'll take the Andalites months to get here. We'll have plenty of warning to prepare our active defenses and strengthen them if necessary."

"Yeah," Doolittle agreed, "but it's not Earth I'm worried about, it's the outlying planets. I'm particularly concerned that the 'lites will take another stab at Harvest. The prism cannon there's out of commission and a good chunk of our Harvest fleets are in shambles."

"Can't we shuffle our fleets around to fill the need at Harvest?" asked one American commander.

"We could, but that would make another system more vulnerable," replied a PSA officer.

"We just agreed that Earth can't be attacked anytime soon. Can't we use parts of the Earth fleets?" said another American.

"Earth's too important. It needs all its defenses on call in case the Andalites can find a way around the rift," said a European officer hotly.

"That's unlikely," spat a PSA commander.

Doolittle rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. He could see where this was going. But before he could step in to quell the developing argument, Chinese General Xiao Li spoke up.

"We could still go with option one, you know."

Everyone in the conference room looked up in surprise; it was the first time any member of the Chinese contingent had spoken that day.

Admiral Doolittle blinked. "Option one? End the war now? You mean take the fights to the Andalites _now_?"

"Why not?" said Li, strangely composed. "Do we not have the resources?"

"Resources?" said Doolittle, scratching his chin. "Yeah, we have resources. Problem is, turning those resources into ships and weapons." He shrugged. "I guess we _do_ have the firepower, but it would likely mean taking most of our forces away from defending our systems."

"Then it would have to a swift, decisive blow," replied Li.

An officer from Macronesia spoke up. "The Andalites would figure out where we're going and wait for us to come out of Z-Space. We'd likely not even have a chance to get into position around the planet for a bombardment."

"Who is talking about attacking the planet from space?" questioned Li.

Every one stared at the Chinese general in silence.

"Are you suggesting…" began Doolittle, catching on.

"I'm suggesting we play to our strengths," said Li. "In the 150 years we've known the Andalites, I would hope it has become clear to everyone that they are quite skilled at stellar warfare. We're no slouches ourselves, but the Andalites have been at it longer. In an orbital attack on the homeworld, we would likely be able to damage the planet and their defensive fleet, but it probably won't be enough and the cost would be exceedingly high."

"So," said one American general, "just because there would be losses is no reason to scrap an assault. Hell, in the Second World War, General Eisenhower was expecting 70% casualties at D-Day and he still went ahead."

"True, General," replied Li. "But your Eisenhower was out of options. We're not. We have one more option, and it just so happens to be something at which, I believe, humans are more skilled than Andalites." He paused for dramatic effect, apparently enjoying the fact that he held sway over everyone in attendance.

"Well?" said one admiral impatiently. "Out with it, man!"

"Ground combat. We invade the Andalite homeworld."

This crated an uproar among the meeting officers.

"Invade!"

"Send in troops!"

"Land?!"

"_What?" _exclaimed Shipleader Joon-soo Hyun from the PSA. "_Invade _the homeworld?! Land troops?! That's insane! Even if we could get an invasion force there… I mean, supplies…logistics! It's crazy! Admiral Doolittle?"

"It's an interesting suggestion," Doolittle said, getting stares of shock from everyone, particularly from Shipleader Hyun. "Especially because the Andalites wouldn't expect it. Hell, I mean if your jaws were going through the floor at the suggestion, I can just imagine the Andalites reaction when dropships and APS's start landing on their homeworld." Doolittle turned to Li. "General, you have one week to get me an outline of this proposed invasion operation. If you need anyone or anything, tell me who and what." He raised his voice. "Dismissed, everyone!"

The crowd got to their feet and as everyone dispersed to go back to their posts in the 200 year old complex of bunkers and missile silos, Doolittle heard them muttering to each other. He distinctly heard "nuts" and "crazy" thrown around a few times.

_Well, maybe it is crazy_, Doolittle thought. The old cliché _just crazy enough to work_ popped into his head.

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Sorry if this chapters a little short. It was orginally part of Chapter V, but I split them up and made a few alterations.


	8. VII: Revelations

Yes! The long awaited continuation! No I'm not dead and please don't sic your paintball team on me!

**--------------------**

**Doolittle Home, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA**

"Ahh," George Doolittle sighed as he entered the front door of his house. "Good to be home." By sheer luck, JDI Headquarters had been established at a facility near his home in Colorado Springs. That meant he could come home to his family every night instead of only seeing them on leave.

"Welcome home, George," said the female voice of the Computerized Home Automation Network. "Can I get you anything?"

"Not now, CHAN, I'm good. Any mail?"

"You received a campaign flyer from the Halley 2152 presidential campaign, a Wal-Mart advertising circular, a notification that you have a credit card payment due in 30 days, an offer to save hundreds on your vehicle insurance, your son's high school report card, and an invitation to Robert E. Lee High School's Class of 2117 thirty-five year reunion," the computer replied.

"Reunion'll have to wait," muttered Doolittle under his breath. Who organized a class reunion during an interstellar war? He bet it was Susan Venan; she always had been obsessive about organizing events.

As Doolittle walked toward the kitchen where his wife would be making dinner, he passed his son Chris doing homework in the study. "You're report card came today, Chris. Am I going to be pleased?"

Chris looked up from the datatablet he was studying. "I hope so," he replied. "All As except for History; I got a B in that."

"That's great," said George, entering the room. "So what are you studying now?"

"History."

"Ah, I see. Always the perfectionist." Doolittle looked at the datatablet. It was displaying the chapter on the Yeerk War. George read a snippet.

_It has since been estimated that approximately 10 million people were hosts during the height of Yeerk infestation. Over 9.6 million of the human-Controllers were in the United States, and over 75 of those were based in Southern California. In addition, by the end of the war there were approximately 850,000 alien-Controllers (including Hork-Bajir, Taxxon, and Gedd) and 2.3 million unhosted Yeerks on Earth or in orbit. After the war ended, it was discovered that another 12 million unhosted Yeerks were enroute to Earth in anticipation of human surrender and enslavement._

"That's pretty depressing stuff," Doolittle told his son.

"Yeah, but it's pretty interesting," Chris replied. "They got a bunch of first hand accounts from former Controllers after the war and the adjustments they had to go through."

"Well, don't kill yourself studying," Doolittle said, ruffling his son's hair. It was dark brown just like George's, but was curly like the boy's mother's. At 16, Chris didn't have to worry about getting drafted if a bad ground war with the Andalites happened.

George continued to the kitchen, where his wife was preparing dinner. Lisa Doolittle was a short woman with short curly black hair and brown eyes that seemed to always give the impression that she would burst out laughing any second. She did have a sense of humor, but she could be very, deadly, serious. She also had a strong will belying her short stature, a will that George was occasionally at odds with.

"Hey, Hon, whatcha making?" George said as he entered, peering over her shoulder at the stove.

"Chili," replied his wife. "Extra-spicy, just the way you like it. And there's jalapeño cornbread in the oven."

"Mmmhmmm, just like momma in Odessa makes. Dear, you spoil me."

"I figure I need to feed you right, not like that slop they serve on base," Lisa replied.

"Aww, come on, the food on base isn't that bad," said George. "Though the lemon-pepper chicken today was a slightly strange color."

Lisa made a face at him. "Sit down, you; I'm dishing it up. CHAN? Will you please tell Chris dinner's ready?"

"Of course, Lisa," the house replied.

Before George could sit down at the table, though, the telescreen buzzed, indicating a call. Doolittle sighed. "CHAN, will you get that? I don't want to upgrade my web service. 500 Tbps is fast enough."

There was a pause, and then CHAN spoke up. "George, it's a Lieutenant Colonel Henry Hammond. He says it's urgent."

Sighing, George got up. "I'll take it in my office."

Arriving at the room, Doolittle was greeted by the baby face of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Hammond, an officer with U.S. Military Intelligence, on the wall's viewscreen. "Yes, Colonel?" Doolittle said, a little irritated. Why did they always call during dinner?

"Sorry to bother you at home, sir, but, umm… Is this a secure connection?"

Doolittle didn't think the Andalites could monitor transmissions and communications from 50 thousand light years away, but he entered his secure code into a keypad on his desk anyway. "It is now. Now what is it?"

"I'll get right to the point, sir" said Hammond, seeming to see the admiral didn't feel like talking. "We've received reports from one of our spooks on the Andalite home world that the 'Lites are initiating a plan to send teams of spies and saboteurs to Earth."

"And so?" Doolittle said indifferently. "We're always worried about Andalite infiltration."

"I know, sir, and I know that precautions are always being taken, but there's one other thing you need to know."

"Yes?"

"The Andalites are considering placing one senator on the team that-"

Doolittle cut him off. "A senator? As a spy? Are the blue-butts that desperate?"

"Well, sir," Hammond went on. "This senator was raised on Earth for the first 25 years of her life. We fear that if she morphs human she'll blend in _perfectly_.

Doolittle grunted. "I see. Well, I don't know what I can do about it at this point, but I'll see. Out." The colonel saluted as he signed off.

Doolittle paced the office. Hammond's report had worried him more than he let on. There were almost always certain mannerisms, certain quirks, that people could use to distinguish an Andalite in human-morph, but if this senator had as extensive knowledge of human culture as Hammond had claimed, she could hid those distinguishing factors. And she could teach others to do the same.

There went a nice dinner with the family. Doolittle sat down at his desk; he had work to do.

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**Office of General Xiao Li, Chinese High Command, Beijing, China**

General Xiao Li sat at his desk, working furiously on a plan to present to Admiral Doolittle. Right after the meeting at Cheyenne Mountain, he had taken a scramjet back to Beijing to work on his plan. His brow furrowed with concentration as he sat calculating logistics and movements. His desk was covered with papers, some with elaborate, computer generated diagrams, others covered with crude shorthand. His north wallscreens were showing human resources and manpower compared with that of the Andalites. His west wallscreens were showing maps of the Andalite home system and diagrams of that system's asteroid belt and fourth planet, a gas giant. On his desk monitor was a diagram of the Harvest system, but periodically he would change it to show other human worlds. The holographic projector in the center of the room displayed a slowly spinning image of the Andalite home world.

This was it, with this plan Li would finally get back at those blue bastards. They had killed his son years ago, and now he was going to get his.

It had been a routine inspection of the Yeerk quarantine. With their fleet decimated, the Yeerks had been confined to their homeworld, and an Alliance quarantine had been established to make sure the slugs never got off it again. Li and his son, a fighter pilot and a colonel in the Chinese Space Forces, were being given a tour of the Andalite quarantine fleet along with several other officers from Earth. Li and his son were in a shuttle, along with several other humans and a brash Andalite senator, going from the Dome ship_ BattleTail_ to the quarantine flagship, the _Aximili. _The shuttle was just out of the Dome ship's bay when _something_; an asteroid, a solar flare, _something_, had struck the _BattleTail_'s Z-space engines in a freak accident. The engines went critical, destroying the Dome ship and creating a surge that damaged the shuttle and sent it crashing to the planet below. Li had lost consciousness just as the craft impacted, sure he was going to die.

Li had awoken up to see that a large conduit had gone through his leg and that the Andalite was already awake, crawling around the crash site with his two back legs broken. The other humans, except for his son, were dead. Li's son was pinned between the ground and large piece of the shuttle's hull, with a fragment of the hull sticking out of his chest. He had been in bad shape, but he could have survived, Li was sure of it! However, when the Andalite rescue team had landed, they were sure that the colonel was as good as dead, and over Li's loud objections, they had left him.

Thanks to the Andalites, the general's son had died needlessly on the Yeerk homeworld. He could never forgive them for that. Now, he had a way to get back at them.

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**Elfangor Military Spaceport, Andalite Homeworld**

Senator Rasgan looked through the window into the chamber where Duria was instructing a group of warriors on the finer points of human culture. Though he couldn't hear her, she looked exasperated. Rasgan chuckled. Good.

The infiltration mission had been given a go, though it wasn't yet confirmed if Duria would be on it. Rasgan was ardently pushing for the placement of the senator on the team, citing an increased chance for success. In reality, he didn't really care if the mission succeeded or failed; he just wanted Duria out of his way, and sending her on a possible suicide mission seemed a good way to do it.

_Yes, Senator, _Rasgan thought. _If I can get you out of the way, no one will oppose me bringing the full force of the Andalites to bear against the humans._ _You've been a thorn in my side far too long, Duria, you Andalilte filth._

_--------------------_

Yes! Another cliffhanger! This time though, I plan to have my next update sooner than 5 months from now!


	9. VIII: Prepare for TakeOff

And he said, though he knew he was very, very late,  
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all **_two_** updates!"

Yes, you heard right, an update for both my stories. With the semester over I finally have some time to tackle other things, including these stories. Thanks to everyone for staying with me. Happy Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Boxing Day/Holidays/Whatever

And a disclaimer: I haven't read all the Animorphs books, so some of my Z-space statistics used in this chapter (and subsequent ones) may be off, or downright wrong. Just bear with me, because a lot of it works into my plot. And I wanted this up on or around Christmas before I left town for a week, so I may have hastened through my proof-reads. Sorry in advance for errors.

* * *

**JDI Centauri Base, Alpha Centauri System March 2152**

"Alright, you ready?" Kyle Franks asked his copilot.

"I suppose," Rudy Garcia replied, glancing at his panel. All systems for the transport ship showed green.

A voice sounded in both men's headphones. "Swallow-Nine, you are go for Z-space jump."

"Right then, let's hit it," Franks said, starting the Z-space engines. The craft they were in blinked into the empty white expanse of Zero space.

Garcia kept his eyes on a display showing their progress through Z-space. After a few minutes he said, "Alright, Kyle, get ready."

"Say when."

"Not yet…not yet…not yet…Now! Take us out NOW!

The ship popped back into normal space. The cockpit window showed a broad expanse of stars, with Proxima Centauri visible in the distance. The two men apprehensively waited to hear from base.

Finally, their headsets crackled. "Oooh, sorry guys. About 2000 meters off. Going to have to try again."

"Damn it!" Franks exclaimed, pounding the armrest. "This is impossible! Has anyone made it yet?"

The technician on the other end of their communications sighed. "Not yet. Although Marks and Durgan came within a click of the mark the other day."

"Yeah, yeah," Garcia said dismissively. "Believe me we know all about that. Those two were telling anyone who would listen that they almost made the mark at chow the other day."

"Yeah, well, as soon as your ready get back to the staging area to try again. Maybe you'll have something to brag about at supper. Out," the technician replied.

The two men piloting the personnel carrier ship sighed as they turned the ship around and started on the journey through normal space back to their starting point.

Garcia turned to the other man as Franks started up the sublight engines. "What if we can't ever get this? What will happen then?"

Franks stared blankly at the field of stars. "Then, it'll be time for Plan B."

"And what's Plan B?"

Franks shrugged. "Damned if I don't know. But it'll be time for it."

-------------------

Admiral Doolittle looked at the report on his screen. Things we're not going well. Had he been a fool to take Li's plan seriously?

The Admiral leaned back in his chair, the seat squeaking in protest as his large frame settled. When Li had presented his outline for his proposed invasion of the Andalite homeworld, it had caused an uproar. It was a very well-laid out plan; Li had been thorough.

The problem was that one detail was shaping up to be very difficult to pull off.

Li's plan called for the landing craft to come out of Z-space _within_ the Andalites' planet's atmosphere.

It was this detail that met heavy resistance. The big issue among the powers that be, was that there was little margin for error. Ships usually included a hundred kilometer margin when calculating the reentry back into normal space. This meant that ships usually had 100 kilometers free of any significant obstacles, which in a ship's usual operating theater of outer space usually wasn't that hard to find.

For this operation, they were aiming for the lower stratosphere, so a ship reentering normal space would have less than a 10 kilometer margin of error. Anything less, and it would be vulnerable to the Andalites' formidable planetary defenses. Anything greater, and it would appear inside the planet.

Then there were concerns about effects, both on the ships and the atmosphere, of a fleet coming out of Z-space in atmosphere. Most of the tech guys said that, though there would be enormous drag and friction created, the ships could handle it.

It had taken some convincing, but Li had eventually obtained enough support for the operation to begin more thorough preparations and exercises, and the JDI Staff had christened the invasion of the Andalite homeworld Operation Divinity.

This was why Doolittle was at Centauri, watching streams of personnel carrier crews trying, and failing, at coming out of Z-space within a 10 kilometer long designated area. Most of them were overshooting the mark. The admiral figured that having several hundred spacecraft suddenly appear inside a planet's crust couldn't be good for the world's stability, but it wasn't quite the way he wanted to hurt the blue backs.

Doolittle, along with several members of the JDI staff had been had been at the Centauri base for over a month. There was nothing in the Alpha Centauri system besides the base and its extensions, some shipyards, and some mining operations: none of the three terrestrial planets were inhabitable. That isolation made it ideal for the more secretive and shadowy operations of Earth's governments, as well making it a good proving ground for Divinity, far from any probing enemy ears or eyestalks.

Doolittle leaned further back in his chair and rubbed his temples. He turned away from the reports and images projected on screens and in the air throughout his office and oriented his chair to face out the large window giving him a view of the brown, cratered world of Alpha Centauri A-2. The base, a space station almost the size of Manhattan, orbited high above the world's equator. On the other side of the planet orbited shipyards for a dozen nations, some commercial, but most of them military. Space elevators connected them to the minerals of the world below. Several cruisers floated around the planet as well, in case the Andalites decided to make an appearance.

Not for the first time, Doolittle worried about the Andalites catching wind of this operation. He thought about Hammond's call to his home over a month ago. Andalite spies. Not just that, but expert Andalite spies. Counterintelligence wasn't really his department to worry about, but he worried about it all the same. What did they call it? Burden of command? Or was it burden of burden of leadership? One of those. Same thing, anyway. He had ordered security beefed up throughout sensitive areas, but there was only so much that could be done. Bio-filters were installed in some places, but that didn't help the spies who morphed humans. He had heard that some engineers were working on integrating the anti-morphing ray, something humanity had "inherited" from the Yeerks after the war, into the bio-filters, but that was a ways off. For all Doolittle knew, the Andalites were already on Earth.

The admiral sighed; he had done all he could. All he could do was hope security and military intelligence did their jobs. He turned back to his desk. He was working with Li, who had remained on Earth, in hammering out some details of Divinity. Supply chains, troop movements, beachheads and the like all had to be accounted for. Li had done a great job in his preliminary, but some things needed more contingencies. And Doolittle wanted things ironed out as quickly as possible, so when (if? He thought briefly, then cast the thought out of his mind) they managed to make the Z-space mark, they could quickly initiate Divinity, bringing the war to a quick close. At least, he hoped that was how things would play out.

In fact, Doolittle had a meeting with Li scheduled right now; the Chinese general was due to call any minute. As if the Admiral's thoughts were the cue, a fully dimensional holographic image of Li appeared in the center of the office.

"Admiral."

"General."

"You wished to talk with me?" Li asked, right to the point.

"Yeah," Doolittle replied, his eyes on a screen in his desk. "I wanted to talk about some of these logistics. I'm having trouble seeing how we can support these supply numbers in the long term, even if we do manage to clear the space above the beachhead." He sighed. "And that's a big 'if.'"

Li let a rare smirk play across his face. "I actually had to leave that facet out of the original operation reports because of security issues."

Doolittle crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Security issues?"

"Security issues," the Chinese general repeated. "But now my government has declassified the information pertaining to your concerns."

"A Chinese military secret? That's stayed secret? I'm impressed."

"We have our secrets, Admiral, as I'm sure so does your nation. However that's not the point. This secret is a key part of Operation Divinity." The general's image faded, to be replaced by a holographic rotating image of the ugliest space craft Doolittle had ever seen. At the base was a four sided pyramid. The pyramid in turn had dozens of protrusion sticking out horizontally from three sides. The fourth side was dominated by what looked like engines. Smaller engines were on the bottom. At the top of the pyramid was what looked like a pint-size Andalite Dome ship, sticking out like a giant mushroom and making up almost half the ship's height.

A readout appeared in the air beside the rotating ship. Doolittle's eyes widened. His initial identification couldn't have been right; this thing was far too massive to be a ship, despite the things that looked like Z-space engine nacelles on one face of the pyramid. It had to be a station of some kind. Each side of the pyramid was over four miles long. The whole thing almost that tall. Some of the protrusions sticking out the side were almost a mile long. The thing had as much floor space as a medium-sized city.

Doolittle kept reading and his eyes got even wider, if that was possible. The thing was indeed a ship, fully capable of interstellar flight. Before he couldn't finish digesting everything, though, the ship's schematics were replaced with Li's head.

"Impressed?"

"What the hell is this thing?" Doolittle said, his voice a little harsher than he intended.

"Admiral, I give you the _Harbin_ Class Factory Ship. Give it a supply of the right raw materials, and it can turn out anything an army needs: ammunition, electronic equipment, armor, even larger and more complex things like weapons, landcruisers, and aircraft. It even has a modular hydrogen converter, to manufacture fuel."

"My God," Doolittle whispered. It was hard to imagine something this big mobile, and with these kinds of manufacturing capabilities. "How did you build it?

"Initial R&D started in 2105. Construction began in 2110. As for specifics, I can't really say. Trade secrets."

"Uh-huh," Doolittle grunted. That was expected. He guessed the Factory Ships were constructed at some unknown top secret shipyard base in some distant star system. All the major space faring nations had them. Intelligence was aware of some of them, but plenty of others remained under the radar.

"So you've been expecting war with the Andalites for the last fifty years?" Doolittle asked.

"Haven't you? The Andalites have been protesting our expansion for at least that time. Always have a contingency plan. However, the _Harbin_ Class was also developed in response to Aurora's independence at that time."

"Don't tell the Aurorans that," Doolittle said, a small grin on his face. The only one-world human nation was notoriously fiercely nationalistic. They wouldn't like hearing about an army-building ship being built in order to take a theoretical war to them. And also, Li had a point about contingency plans. Much of the action being taken now in the war derived from preexisting plans for Andalite-Human relations going sour.

Li went on. "We have three of them: the _Harbin, _the _Shanghai_, and the _Xian_. Have at least one of them land on the world, and our forces will have everything they'll need."

"Yeah, but- Can these things actually land on a planet? They're so massive."

Li smirked again. "I assure you that the _Harbin_ ships can land, once a sufficient beachhead, and the space above it, is cleared. The _Harbin_ carried out exercises to prove that. Now, do _you_ believe these ships will integrate into Divinity well?"

Doolittle sat down behind his desk. "Ya' know, I do believe they will. You might want to take a seat, General. We have some things to iron out."

**Elfangor Spaceport, Andalite Homeworld**

Duria stared at the ship. (We are all going to fit in this thing how?)

The officer escorting her turned a stalk eye to the senator. (We know it will be tight, but I assure you that this craft will hold your entire contingent.) He paused. (Just not very comfortably.)

Duria tuned all four eyes to the officer.

(But it is not a long voyage,) he said quickly.

_Any voyage under these circumstances is long enough_, senator thought to herself. A month ago, the High Command had caved to Rasgan and had placed Duria on the mission to Earth. To say she was upset would have been an understatement. Her tail was twitching the entire time Command was issuing the orders for her, her new team, and their mission.

The team was to consist of Duria, a prince, and two warriors. The three soldiers had been trained extensively in human culture. In six weeks they had learned more about human history, civilization, politics, entertainment, cuisine, and nuances in the English language than most Andalites ever learned in their entire lives. Could they stay undetected on Earth? That remained to be seen.

Prince Neandri-Fontaal-Allano was the nominal head of the mission. He was also, as far as Duria was concerned, a royal pain in the hindquarters. He was loud, brash, and a great friend of Senator Rasgan. That alone made him suspicious to Duria. He had gone through Duria's human training sessions and seminars, but, to Duria's eye, he had not absorbed a single thing. Why Command had picked him to lead the mission was anyone's guess. He had probably done something to anger a member of High Command, or else someone just wanted to make Duria miserable.

Croman-Neental-Orlin was the opposite of Prince Neandri. Quiet and introspective, he nonetheless had a commanding presence, with his large frame and scarred face. When spoken to, he usually kept his replies brief and monosyllabic. He had paid attention to all of Duria's human lectures, but his nature made it hard to gauge how well he would perform in the field.

Sapia-Naria-Desala was the one in whom Duria had the most confidence, and also the only one assigned to the team that the senator genuinely liked. Sapia would have no problem blending in on Earth. She had quickly picked up on everything over the course of Duria's lessons. She was creative and adaptable and had a great sense of humor and a keen wit. All of which were necessary for staying with humans undetected for any prolonged period, and had helped the warrior endear herself to Duria.

Now they were all going to be together for three weeks in a human shuttle. The craft had been owned by an Olympian corporation, and had crashed on the homeworld almost a decade ago, and had been long since repaired. It was hoped that no one on Earth would look too closely into the registry and history of the craft from the Martian nation.

The shuttle was as unmodified as possible, so as to complete the subterfuge. Some furniture and a bulkhead or two had been removed to make things slightly more comfortable for four Andalites, but most things were unchanged. This included the cockpit, meaning an Andalite would need to be in human morph to adequately pilot the craft. Thankfully once the group got going, they could put the craft on auto-pilot for around two weeks, until the ship entered Earth's solar system.

Duria was so busy contemplating the craft and the mission that she didn't notice that Sapia had approached her until she spoke.

(Senator?)

(Yes!) Duria gave a start. Then, seeing who it was, (Oh, I'm sorry, Sapia. I was lost in my thoughts.)

(I know the feeling,) Sapia said. (I expect we'll be doing a lot of that on this voyage.) She chuckled. (But then we will eventually get to Earth… ) She trailed off. (Anyway, Prince Neandri instructed me to inform you that we are to get underway shortly.) Both females turned their stalk eyes behind them, where Neandri was privately conversing with Senator Rasgan.

(He really does not care for you, does he?) Sapia asked.

(Pardon?) Duria said, though she had a feeling she knew to whom Sapia was referring.

(Senator Rasgan. Pushing to have you placed on this mission like he did? I can understand teaching courses in human infiltration, but actually going on the mission?)

Duria laughed without amusement. (Rasgan and I have what the humans call a love-hate relationship, meaning we love to hate each other. Although I'll admit it has gone beyond a political rivalry.) Duria brought her stalk eyes round to face the human craft once more. (He thinks I'm soft on the humans, and actually he is probably right. I've been vocal in my disapproval of the war, _his_ war, since the beginning, and he wants me silenced. What better way than by sending me thousands of light-years away?)

(Thousands of light-years away on a pointless mission,) Sapia grumbled. Duria affixed all for eyes on Sapia in something approaching shock. Though the senator felt the same way, she didn't think it would have been wise to bring it up around a warrior. Sapia apparently noticed Duria's surprise for she continued. (I am a warrior, Senator; I am not stupid. And more to point, the humans aren't either. It is going to be very difficult, if not downright impossible, for four Andalites to sabotage any of Earth's numerous defenses, regardless of training. We might have slightly better luck with intelligence gathering, but if that was the main focus, the whole scope of this mission would have been different.)

Duria smiled. (I like you more the more I talk to you, Sapia. Maybe this voyage won't be so bad after all.)

Sapia laughed. (You're forgetting the other two pieces of baggage we're required to bring along.)

This set both women laughing, and this time it was genuine.

* * *

And another chapter done. Thank yous go out to all my readers and reviewers. 


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